


Aftershock

by Clyncye Rudje (Tiamat)



Category: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: Angst, M/M, actually edited for once wild i know, eirika is mentioned in passing, implied knoll/lyon and ephraim/lyon, only sad gay hours here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-19 04:22:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22971886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiamat/pseuds/Clyncye%20Rudje
Summary: /ˈaftərˌSHäk/nouna smaller earthquake following the main shock of a large earthquake.
Relationships: Ephraim/Knoll (Fire Emblem)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	Aftershock

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place shortly after the end cutscene in C18 (Ephraim route, of course). I initially considered having that scene in the fic, but I'm already working on another fic that goes into that (albeit with some... spicy... alterations) and didn't want to just take the dialogue from that scene even if i embellished.

_"I’ve always loved you. I’ve always hated you."_

Ephraim couldn't shake the encounter. It had been bad enough to hear his dearest friend say that he had taken his path by choice, to see the hint of magical warping at his collar, moving towards his jaw, to be attacked even if no physical harm had been done, but the thing that dug fangs as manifold as a gwyllgi's maws had been that one simple, deathly calm sentence. 

He couldn't convince himself that it was just the Demon King's corruption taking hold, making Lyon say things he didn't mean. It made too much sense, and no matter how Ephraim twisted his memories to prove himself a fool he only found more evidence of carefully buried resentment and envy. 

He startled from his obsessive thoughts at the dull death rattle of a phantom in his ear, followed shortly by its summoner walking behind it, already out of breath. 

"Knoll?"

"Princess Eirika was worried." Unspoken but plain, even to Ephraim, _I was worried_. 

He inhaled, sharply, tried to clear his mind. Having the terrible shape of a phantom in front of him didn't help, his instincts screaming at him to run from this _not-quite-human_ _thing_ dripping with malice towards the living, but he knew Knoll would not let it strike. He trusted the man to know his limits when summoning… _things. Things,_ that he still wasn't convinced were ever human to begin with.

Knoll noticed his unease, made a gesture Ephraim didn't quite catch, and the phantom lurched off to continue its patrol. He watched as it left, and only let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding until that moment. It left him with a grim reminder that Lyon had not been the only mage working at the limits of humanity, quietly, determinedly, eating away at what was considered impossible.

He couldn't suppress the shudder. 

"Prince Ephraim?"

"It's nothing."

" _Ephraim._ "

He answered with a half-truth, not wanting to admit he'd been, on some level, doubting Knoll. "I think the… encounter, with Lyon made me more tired than I thought. I'm just chilled."

Ephraim didn't turn to see if Knoll bought it (probably not, Ephraim knew he was a poor liar and Knoll acted like he had been immersed in lies from birth), and thought nothing of the sound of fabric rustling behind him until Knoll's outer robes were dropped unceremoniously on his head, still warm from the mage's body heat.

"There. Now stop dodging the question."

Ephraim, for once, actually thought about his words as he settled the heavy robes properly over his shoulders, shifted the hood over his head to help keep it in place. While he did, Knoll stood silently beside him, his long braid perfectly framing his jawline as he watched the river.

"...Did I ever mention what Lyon said?"

Knoll shook his head. "If you did, Princess Eirika never passed it on."

So no. Eirika would have told Knoll about it if she had been worried about him.

"Lyon, he… He said he hated me." He couldn't stop his voice from cracking, the memory reopening the wound again and leaving him in renewed agony.

Knoll didn't immediately deny it, which Ephraim appreciated. But he always took his time speaking, carefully picking over words to find the ones he felt worked best, leaving Ephraim feeling like he was fighting with one leg missing when they talked. 

"I don't doubt that his highness resented how weak he was compared to you, or that he envied your strength. But he only had praise when he spoke of you, especially after you left." Knoll paused, placing a delicate hand against his lips as he considered if he should share what he said next, before continuing. "I certainly hated you for it, at the time. But I would not call any negative emotion he had about you strong enough to be _hate_. Not before the Demon King."

Ephraim wasn't exactly surprised to hear that Knoll didn't like him, considering the sharp, backhanded insults he gave on that first meeting in the keep’s dungeons, but hearing him admit that Lyon had praised him _when he wasn't around_ was unexpected. He tightened the robes around him, though they barely fit around his shoulders even as oversized as they were.

"Then… why? Why would he…?"

Knoll turned his head away. "Lyon… is not in control, no matter what he thinks. I…" Knoll took a shuddering breath to steady himself, the only break Ephraim could see in his composure. "...for a few months, even I fooled myself into thinking he was still there."

The shame in his voice was palpable. If Grado's most esteemed magical researcher and Lyon's sole confidant in Grado had been fooled, well. There was hardly any hope for the idiot, lovestruck prince who had only communicated with Lyon through letters for two years, was there? 

They stood in silence, neither seeing what they were looking at, both lost in memories and regrets. The sun slid below the horizon as they did, the mountain chill deepening to true cold. Ephraim shivered, the heavy robes around him only doing so much to keep out the chill when he couldn't properly wear them. He didn't understand how Knoll was completely unaffected by it.

Or maybe he was just better at hiding it. Certainly this was the first time Knoll had let slip that bit of guilt to Ephraim, and the weight of it was clearly killing him; what was hiding how cold he was compared to that? 

"You're being overdramatic."

Ephraim startled, slightly, at the sound of Knoll’s voice after hours of silence. "How do you keep _doing_ that?"

Knoll shrugged. "You wear your thoughts on your face. A bad habit for a king to have."

"You're the only one who ever noticed."

"Or the only one who has told you."

They slipped easily into further bickering, a now-familiar back-and-forth that eased Ephraim's distress, in a way no others could. At least one man would tell him when his concerns were unfounded to his face.

Tomorrow he would have to move another step closer to fighting Lyon. But for that night, he could forget—at least for a moment.

**Author's Note:**

> [@ClyncyeRudje](https://twitter.com/ClyncyeRudje)
> 
> thanks to aria on the ferdiebert discord for betaing!


End file.
